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October 13, 2013

Resilient Red Sox Have Shown Ability To Bounce Back

Gordon Edes (ESPNBoston) points out that the Red Sox have made a habit this season of bouncing back after bad games.

The Sox were held to two hits, their season low until Saturday night, on two other occasions this season. Each time, they responded with wins. ...

The Sox were shut out 11 times this season. They came back to win the next game eight times, including the past five in a row, and averaged 5.9 runs while doing so. One of those games came last month against Scherzer and the Tigers ...

So the white-flag concession wasn't getting much action in the Red Sox clubhouse after the game.

Chad Finn (Globe) writes: "This was the first chapter, not the final scene."

Still, there were the gloomers. John Tomase (Herald) stated that the Red Sox's performance in Game 1

doesn't make you question the effectiveness of the offense so much as its very existence. ... Its not yet time to start hyperventilating, but grab a paper bag and check back with us at this time tomorrow, because the season suddenly hangs in the balance.

The Red Sox turned in some pathetic at-bats, but Brian MacPherson (Providence Journal) writes that is to be expected when an opposing pitcher is dealing like Sanchez was.

Even if they advance to the World Series, the Red Sox won't face a better staff of starting pitchers than they'll face this week against the Detroit Tigers.

The six no-hit innings Anibal Sanchez threw at Fenway Park on Saturday showed how a pitcher on his game can take the bat out of the hands of good hitters. ...

Should Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander or Doug Fister pitch a similar gem in this series, there once again will only be so much even a disciplined Boston lineup is going to be able to do. Like a defense against a Tom Brady-led offense operating at peak precision, a hitter has next to no chance if a pitcher is hitting every spot he wants to hit.

Stephen Drew talked about striking out with the bases loaded in the sixth, a key moment in the game.

Several Red Sox players, including Jon Lester, David Ross, and Shane Victorino said that Joe West's strike zone had no bearing on the outcome of the game. ... West - who seems determined in every game he calls behind the plate to grab some of the spotlight - still had to act like a dick to Lester on a conversation that was recorded by Fox.

I definitely feel like I've learned from that at-bat ... [M]y confidence has grown so much. Laying off so many tough pitches against a good closer like that in a big situation, my confidence level is pretty high for the next time up. ... If I get him back I'll probably do damage to him because I probably know what he has now.

Miguel Cabrera's first-inning single meant he had reached base in a record 30 straight postseason games. ... Other Game 1 factoids.

The only other time the Red Sox had been shutout at home in the postseason? Game 5 of the 1918 World Series. They clinched the championship the following day. ... It was also the first 1-0 postseason game at Fenway Park in 70 games.

With the Cardinals beating the Dodgers 1-0 earlier in the day, Saturday was the first day in postseason history with multiple 1-0 games.

Jackson Alexander (WEEI) looks at the Buchholz/Scherzer match-up. ... For Game 2, Mike Napoli and Daniel Nava are expected to be on the bench in favour of Mike Carp and Jonny Gomes.